During the month of Ramadan, Muslims are forbidden to eat or drink between sunrise and sunset. How w

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims are forbidden to eat or drink between sunrise and sunset. How would this apply at the north and south poles, where the sun rises and sets once a year? 1) He should count it every 7th day, whereby a day is a "dark/light" sequence. With one orbit being every


ETHICAL CONUNDRUMS

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims are forbidden to eat or drink between sunrise and sunset. How would this apply at the north and south poles, where the sun rises and sets once a year?

  • A similar question was asked by a Jewish astronaut - how should he celebrate the Sabbath (which starts at nightfall on Friday and ends at nightfall on Saturday) when in space.He was given three possible answers:

    1) He should count it every 7th day, whereby a day is a "dark/light" sequence. With one orbit being every 90 minutes roughly, he would celebrate the Sabbath for 90 minutes every 10.5 hours.

    2) He should work it out based on the day/time he left the ground at launch, and therefore celebrate it at the same time as people in Florida were.

    3) As the commandments in the Bible are specified to be kept "as long as you are on the earth", he does not need to keep them at all! This was refuted, by saying that as everything (eg air, water, food) he needs in space is from the earth, he must assume he is still there for this purpose.

    Benjy Arnold, London

Add your answer

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKafqbK0rc2dqK6dop6ytHvQrpyrsV9leW15kWlvbmRgZXupwMyl

 Share!